Thought for the week

Right now loads of Football League clubs will find themselves playing twice a week for the foreseeable future. That involves fans in plenty of lengthy, chilly, sometimes hazardous, Tuesday and Wednesday night trips – so why not shut the season down in January for three weeks and then extend it at both ends?

This season, for instance, the Championship campaign concludes on Sunday, 2 May – eight days before the Premier League finale – and Leagues One and Two on Saturday, 8 May. Granted, it's World Cup year but, percentage wise, very few Football League players will be going to South Africa so there is no reason why they could not keep going through May when the nights are longer and the English weather infinitely more agreeable for watching and playing football.

Crowds would surely be significantly bigger – with those gates almost inevitably boosted by supporters of Premier League teams obtaining their football fix through attendance at crunch League games. Talk about a win-win situation.

And think about the amount of money clubs could save in terms of heat and lighting – no small matter in these days of soaring energy bills. Meanwhile, free of the injuries associated with playing in freezing weather on hard pitches, club medical departments would, happily, be appreciably less busy. And, of course, with no need for the undersoil heating largely lacking at lower division clubs there would be none of the postponements which inevitably occur in certain areas during even the mildest of winters.

But what about fitting the play-offs in? Well there is far too big a gap between semi-finals and finals at present, so they could take place over a more concentrated period in early June – another ideal time, weather-wise, for playing and watching English football.

There would also still be sufficient summer holiday room left to begin the new League campaign right at the start of August, thereby guaranteeing the next season's January break.

Now the flaw in this argument is that we don't know when – and if – the bad winter weather is going to come. But the last three weeks of January – after fans have enjoyed their Christmas and New Year football and the FA Cup's third round, leaving clubs to count healthy festive turnstile receipts – seems as good a time as any.

It would certainly help avert the misery at places such as Cheltenham Town where the chairman, Paul Baker, is rueing the £40,000 in gate receipts lost when Saturday's home derby with Hereford United was called off. If there were more games in May, especially, and August, clubs like Cheltenham may not be so worried about weather-induced interruptions to the cash-flow possibly prompting the delayed payment of wages to staff and players.

A winter break would also spare League One Carlisle United from impending marathon midwinter treks to Brentford, Exeter City and Colchester United. As Greg Abbott, Carlisle's manager, put it: "We're looking at seven match months in January and February."

That's certainly not much fun – whereas football in May is invariably fabulous.

Goals of the weekend

Sammy Clingan's spectacular – if slightly deflected – scissor kick for Coventry City in the weekend's 3-1 home win over Barnsley. Some of Clingan's team-mates told the midfielder his goal had reminded them of a similarly executed one from Paolo Di Canio for West Ham United against Wimbledon almost a decade ago.

Grant Holt's two for Norwich City in the 3-1 home win over Exeter. Holt also created his side's other goal and has now scored 22 times this season.

Garry Thompson's two for Scunthorpe United. The winger played a big part in his side's 4-1 dismantling of Nigel Clough's Derby County at Pride Park.

Ones to watch

Paul Lambert Only Leeds United now stand between the former Scotland international's side and the League One summit. Small wonder Burnley are so interested in spiriting Lambert away from Norwich to Turf Moor as the replacement for Owen Coyle. Lambert has repeatedly reiterated that he intends staying put at Carrow Road but, for all these protestations, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that he could end up in east Lancashire. That, though, would be something of a shame – it would be good to see Norwich thriving, along with Leeds in the Championship next season. In Lambert and Simon Grayson, those two clubs boast two of the brightest young British managers around – but they need time to learn their trade properly. Throwing one or both into the Premier League deep end too early could destroy promising careers which have barely begun.

Lee Clark The Huddersfield Town manager has also been linked – strongly – with Burnley. The former Newcastle midfielder is displaying an impressive aptitude for management after cutting his teeth as Glenn Roeder's assistant at Norwich. Young, energetic and an attack-minded purist – Clark didn't play for Kevin Keegan for so long without something rubbing off. He perfectly fits Burnley's profile as they search for "the new Owen Coyle". His departure would, however, represent an enormous loss to Huddersfield – currently looking good for the League One play-offs. Whatever the immediate future holds, Clark could yet end up thoroughly eclipsing his good pal Alan Shearer in the management game.

Mido The word from Egypt is that, after only one goal and countless injury problems for Zamalek, Mido could have his intended season-long loan from Middlesbrough curtailed and be shortly dispatched to Cairo airport on a flight bound for Teesside. The problem here is that Boro do not want him and he does not want to be at Boro. The solution is apparently to sort out another loan somewhere else. The shame is that, if only the striker would get his act together, Mido would arguably be the most dangerous centre-forward in the Championship and could easily propel Gordon Strachan's side back into play-off contention.

Derby County and Nigel Clough An impressive 28,106 turned out at Pride Park to watch Derby thrashed 4-1 at home by Scunthorpe After 12 months negotiating a tricky posting Clough is struggling to turn the tide at Derby and finds himself in a relegation fight. As Brian Clough's son he will be given more time than most to put things right – but the cash-strapped board's patience is not going to be infinite. Indeed the clock may already be ticking for Nigel.

Games to look forward to

Nottingham Forest v Reading Forest have climbed to second in the Championship, stealing above West Bromwich Albion and are beginning to breath down Newcastle United's neck. Three into two won't go so the automatic promotion race is about to become engrossing.

Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion Suddenly there is a third team in what had, for some weeks, been regarded as a straightforward procession to automatic promotion. Now the race for the Championship title no longer seems a duel between Newcastle and West Brom. Nottingham Forest will, of course, not actually be playing at St James' Park on Monday night but both sides present will be acutely aware that points dropped here will increase the danger posed by the men from the City Ground. And the very last thing Chris Hughton or Roberto Di Matteo needs is the play-offs.